Pages

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Guest post: Leggings - the great debate

I am excited about today's guest. Ally from Shybiker is one of the kindest and most stylish bloggers I know AND asks extremely interesting and thought provoking questions in blog posts. Today is no exception and I'm excited to come back and see what everyone has to say about this topic! Here's Ally!

Hi! My name's Ally and I blog at Shybiker. I like Beth a lot and am flattered she's allowing me to appear here. Her blog is one of my favorites.

I believe it would be fun to use this opportunity to discuss a topic that puzzles me and divides women. That topic is -- should you wear leggings as pants?

Most fashion-bloggers immediately say NO! But when I walk through a mall, I see dozens of women breaking this "rule". Women of all ages. Manfestly, this is a common practice however much some condemn it. Even celebrities wear leggings as pants for comfort and to display their bodies. For example, here's a candid photo of Ashley Tisdale...

On one hand, modesty suggests we should cover our private areas. On the other hand, many fit women like to show off their shapely curves. Leggings can be very effective at doing that.

On my blog, I once wore what I thought were thick white pants with a snakeskin print. In pictures, they looked like leggings due to their tightness. I caught flack for wearing them. I was confused -- when are leggings pants and when are pants leggings? Is it the thickness of the material?

I think you hit on a great point here, Ally...Sometimes I see girls wearing pants that are tight and thin enough to be just as "immodest" as leggings, so where are we drawing the line?! I'm honestly not a fan of "real" leggings as pants -- a lot of times I think they get a little transparent (eek) and are more clingy than even the tightest of pants. But I'm ok with some pretty stretchy, skinny jeggings as long as they've got a good fit and even better are worn with a longer top...I think denim does really hide the pantylines/most private "contours" (shall we say) that are most indecent, but still allow for comfort and style.

I have been waiting for this post to come up since yesterday's blog post! It definitely does matter on the thickness of the leggings. Some are very thin, almost like tights. I can understand if you have a great body and you want to work what you got, but beware, leggings show every bump and ripple we have. So I am sticking with my rule for WLAP - cover the booty! Heather

My general rule is, if your top/tunic/whatever covers your butt and crotch, then leggings-as-pants are okay, regardless of how thick/thin they are. But if I can see your hoo-ha or your panty lines, then it's a huge faux pas.

Love this topic! My old roommates wore leggings as pants ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I thought it looked good; other times - not so much. It depends on the occasion and how you style it. For a casual day with friends, leggings are fine paired with a long top and belted waist.

I agree with the ladies saying that if your top can cover your butt and crotch then it's ok. I also think of leggings as "work out clothes or sweat pants" now, in the sense that I usually wear them only in certain situations (aka, home or gym if they are thick enough) and not as actual clothes. I use to wear them with denim mini skirts when I was younger but that is now filed under the "what was I thinking" category.great post!

Just because everyone's doing it doesn't mean it's right. I would never wear leggings as pants because they just show off too much. I think some ladies can pull off the leggings and tunic style awesomely, but the tunic needs to cover the crotch/bum area.

I think sometimes even skinny jeans/jeggings can ride the line of too tight. I think that's the worst problem is people just look squished and I don't want to see every lump and bump.

All that said, I don't even wear shorts or mini-skirts so my opinion of modesty is probably on the more conservative side.

My 15 year old daughter will get in the car after school and admit her day was ruint by the sight of a fellow teen wearing black leggings as pants, with brown boots and a cropped top. I guess the acceptance is in the eye of the legging beholder :P

If I were fit, I'd wear them more because I am all about comfort. I like Emma's rule, both for the rule itself and the way it was expressed, which made me giggle, "But if I can see your hoo-ha or your panty lines, then it's a huge faux pas." I hate seeing really overweight women in leggings, especially when they show off every single cellulite bump and divot!